Nightmarish Reality
by Harmonde
Summary: Rowen has terrifying dreams that may foretell the future. This is actually something I wrote over a year and a half ago but never posted, so it's not the best.
1. Just A Dream?

Nightmarish Reality  
Prologue  
By Lady Strata 

"Arrow shockwave!" 

Rowen looked around him at the Dynasty soldiers lying, unmoving, on the ground. Then he collapsed. 

He had just finished punching a soldier in the face when a whole other group had attacked with a viciousness that had surprised him. The new group of soldiers had wasted no time in beating the shit out of him. They had been beating Rowen so badly and so quickly, he couldn't fight back at all. 

But in the middle of the attack, there had been a brief few seconds where he could actually move and try to defend himself. Rowen had taken advantage of the few seconds he had, and had done the arrow shockwave, surprised at how powerful it had been. He didn't think one attack could destroy so many Dynasty soldiers, and ones this strong, at that. 

Rowen lay on his back on the ground, breathing hard and groaning. Those damn Dynasty jerks had really done a number on him, especially to his uncovered face, which was covered with blood and bruises. 

Of course, it wasn't just his face that hurt. His entire body throbbed. His armor had protected him somewhat, but it still hadn't prevented him from receiving some serious injuries. At least one of his ribs was broken, and Rowen found that he couldn't move his left arm. 

He groaned again, trying to summon up enough strength to get up and find the other Ronin Warriors. Where were the other Ronins, anyway? The last time he had seen them was just before the group of Dynasty soldiers had attacked him. Rowen turned his head to the side, wincing painfully, trying to see where his friends were. 

"Guys!" 

Rowen grit his teeth together and clapped his right hand over the sudden pain in his chest that had come from calling out. He tried to ignore the pain, and called for his friends again. 

"Guys, where are you?" He coughed. "I need help." 

There was no answer. No one was around to hear him. 

"Shit," Rowen muttered, trying to get up. He cried out softly when he fell back to the ground. He had no choice. He had to get up and find help on his own. 

Rowen rolled over onto his stomach, then slowly pushed himself onto his hands and knees. It hurt, but he didn't care. He had to find his friends. 

Rowen crawled over to a tree, and holding onto it, very slowly stood up. He got his balance, then took a cautious step forward. Fortunately, he didn't fall over. Rowen let go of the tree and moved his other foot forward. He nearly fell over this time. He reached back for the tree so he could steady himself, then tried walking again. His right ankle was definitely sprained. Or something like that. 

He started walking slowly, with a heavy limp because he favored his right ankle. After walking for half an hour, he stopped and looked around him. He hadn't gotten far because of his injuries, but you'd think he would have seen someone after half an hour. 

Rowen took a deep breath. 

"Guys!" he yelled. "Tell me where you are!" 

But no one answered. Rowen was starting to get worried. How could they have disappeared during the attack on himself? To Rowen the attack had seemed to last forever, but in reality it hadn't lasted that long. It was strange that he hadn't even found some sign of where they were. A weapon, or... 

Rowen shook his head, and started walking again. It wasn't going to do any good to just stand there and think about where the hell they were. He had to keep walking and calling out. He was sure he would find something sooner or later. Wouldn't he? 

One hour later, Rowen still hadn't found his friends. But what really bothered him was the fact that he hadn't found anyone at all. Someone had to be around somewhere, didn't they? 

"Sage!" 

Rowen called out the name of his best friend, hoping, praying that he would answer. 

"Kento!" 

Rowen called out the name of one of his other friends, but to no avail. 

"Ryo!" 

The leader of the Ronin Warriors gave no answer to Rowen's worried call. 

"Cye!" 

No answer. 

"Dammit, where the hell are they?" Rowen asked himself. "It's been a whole fucking hour and a half, and I haven't seen anyone. This is just too weird." 

But he pressed on, determined to find an answer. 

Rowen staggered painfully up a hill. The two hours searching and his many injuries were beginning to take their toll on him. He considered it amazing that was still able to walk, considering how badly he was hurt. 

He was ready to collapse, and he was breathing hard. He knew that he was going to be unable to do anything very soon, and he wanted to find something before that happened. 

"Oh god, kill me now," Rowen moaned as he reached the top of the hill. His pain and exhaustion were almost unbearable. He slowly walked down the hill, too absorbed in his own troubles to notice anything. It wasn't until he got to the bottom of the hill did he notice the horrible scene in front of him. 

"No..." 

Before him was the scene of a battle. Bodies littered the ground. There was blood everywhere. Most of the bodies were of Dynasty soldiers. But it was the three bodies in front of Rowen that caught his attention. 

"NO!" 

Rowen hurled himself to the ground and began to cry. The bloody bodies of Ryo, Kento, and Cye lay in front of him. 

"I'm too late," Rowen sobbed. "Oh shit, I'm too late. I could have helped them. But now they're gone. All three of them..." 

Rowen put his face in his hands and began crying even harder. But suddenly he jerked his head up and a thought came to him. Why were there only three Ronin Warriors in front of him. Where was Sage? 

"Sage...SAGE! WHERE ARE YOU?" 

Rowen pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the pain. He had to find his best friend. He had to. 

"SAGE!" 

Rowen limped as fast as he could across the battlefield, calling out Sage's name. Fear held his heart in an iron grip. He felt like he was about to vomit. Tears were streaming down his face. 

"DIE, RONIN!" 

Rowen looked around frantically. But whoever was yelling wasn't yelling to him. They were yelling to... 

"Sage!" 

Rowen limped toward the battle between the Warrior of Wisdom and the Warlord of Darkness. Both were badly hurt. 

"Sage, you're alive! Thank god!" 

Sage looked toward Rowen, surprised to see him. 

"Rowen-" 

"Sage, look out!" 

Sage looked just in time to see Cale swing his sword right into his stomach. Sage screamed with agony as Cale pulled the sword out, laughing evilly. 

"NO!" 

Rowen limped toward Cale, ready to tear him apart what he had done to Sage. 

Cale laughed and knocked Rowen to the ground. 

"I may be hurt, but I'm still strong enough to take care of you, you pathetic Ronin weakling!" 

"You killed my best friend, you bastard!" Rowen screamed with rage. "I'll get you for this!" 

"Not very likely, in your condition." 

Cale raised his sword above the fallen warrior, ready to plunge it into Rowen's heart. But surprisingly, he lowered it instead. 

"You know, instead of killing you, I think I'll leave you here and let you think about how you killed your friends. If you hadn't been stupid enough to let yourself get attacked, you would have been here to defend them. I didn't kill your best friend, you did!" 

"No, no I didn't! I swear I didn't!" 

Cale laughed and disappeared, to report to Talpa what he had done. 

The Warrior of Life lay sobbing on the ground. He knew in his heart that Cale was right. It was his fault that his friends were dead. All his fault... 

Nightmarish Reality  
Chapter 1 - Just a Dream?  


Rowen sat straight up in bed, breathing hard. He put his hand to his chest and thought that his heart would beat right through his ribcage. 

"It...it was just a dream." 

He found that he was sweating, and nervously ran a hand through his blue hair. The dream had seemed so real. Rowen gulped, trying to calm himself down. 

The door opened and Sage walked in. 

"Hey, you're up, Ro! We're all going into town, and I thought I'd see if you were awake so I could tell you-" 

He broke off when he realized that Rowen wasn't listening to him. 

"Rowen?" He came over and sat on the edge of Rowen's bed. "Are you all right?" 

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." 

"Could've fooled me." 

Rowen debated about whether or not to tell Sage about his dream. Sage was his best friend, and he told him everything. But now he would probably take Rowen's dream too seriously, and insist that it foretold the future. Rowen wanted to forget his horrible nightmare, and decided to keep his mouth shut. 

"What about going into town?" Rowen asked. 

Sage sighed. 

"You're going into town, right?" Rowen persisted. 

"Yes, we're going into town." He gave his friend a hard look. "Rowen, I know there's something you're not telling me." 

"No, there's nothing-nothing at all." 

Sage got up. 

"Well," he said, moving towards the door. "I'll talk to you when I get back. In the meantime, take it easy." 

"Geez, Sage, I'm not sick or anything." 

"Rowen, I've never seen so look so scared. Something's bothering you." 

Duh, Rowen thought. 

"We should be back in about an hour." Sage gave his best friend one last concerned look, then walked out, shutting the door behind him. 

"Okay, Sage, we need to get milk, eggs, cheese, apples, ham, and some orange juice. The others will handle their parts of the list," Mia said, tucking a grocery list into her purse. 

Sage was leaning against the cart, staring into space, saying nothing. 

"Sage?" He turned to look at her, but still didn't say anything. 

"I'll get the milk," he said, starting to walk away. 

"Sage, wait." 

He stopped. 

"You haven't said one word since we came into town. Is something wrong?" 

"It's-," he started to say, then stopped. He turned away. "Nothing." 

"Sage, tell me, please." 

"I'm worried about Rowen." 

"Rowen?" 

"Yeah. When I went up to see if he was awake, he was, but he looked so scared. I don't know if he knew it, but he was sweating. I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong, but he clammed up." 

"What do you think it is?" 

"I don't know. I can't think of anything that would scare him like that." He lowered his voice. "You-you don't think the Dynasty had anything to do with it, do you?" 

"Sage, get a grip! You're usually so calm. Rowen will tell you eventually. He's your best friend. Just give him time." 

"You're right, Mia. It's just that I wish I knew what was going on." 

"Hey guys, come on! There's food to be eaten!" 

Sage laughed. "Coming, Kento." 

When Sage, Ryo, Kento, Cye, Mia, Yuli, and White Blaze had returned from town, Rowen had come out of the house smiling, giving no indication that anything was wrong. He had helped them carry the groceries into the house, and began talking to Ryo as if the dream had never happened. 

After eating the delicious lunch that Cye had prepared, Sage approached Ryo. 

"Ryo, Rowen didn't seem...scared when he was talking to you, did he?" 

"Scared?" Ryo gave Sage an odd look. "No, why should he have been?" 

"When I went to talk to him this morning, he was scared of something. I don't know what-but I've never seen him look so scared." 

"Look, Sage, I'm sure he's fine. He probably just had a bad dream." 

"Yeah, I guess you're right." 

"Come on, come on!" Kento leaned closer to the TV, gripping his controller tightly. He and Cye were playing Wipeout 3 on their Sony Playstation, and so far Cye was kicking his ass. 

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kento screamed, throwing his controller down and burying his head in his hands in exasperation. 

"Yes!" Cye said, pumping a fist in the air. 

Cye had just finished the race in first place, and Kento's car had exploded. 

"You won Cye, you won!" Yuli cried, jumping up and down with excitement. 

Cye laughed. "Yep, Yuli, I sure did." 

"It was just beginner's luck!" Kento said. 

Ryo laughed. "Oh, come on, Kento, don't be a sore loser." 

"I'M NOT BEING A SORE LOSER!" 

"Admit it, Kento," Cye said, grinning like a maniac. "I can whoop your sorry bum any day of the week." 

"Yeah, well, let's just see you do that again, Brit boy!" 

Soon, Kento and Cye were racing again. Yuli jumped up and down, yelling,"Go, Cye, go!" 

Mia headed into the kitchen, smiling. She opened the refrigerator door, getting out a jug of milk. She opened a cupboard and got out a glass. 

"Mia?" 

She looked up. 

"Oh, Rowen, it's you." She held up her glass of milk. "Want some?" 

"No thanks." He shuffled his feet, looking uncomfortable. 

"Rowen, is something-" 

"Mia, I need to tell you something." Rowen turned bright red, trying to think of the right way to explain the dream he had had. 

Mia looked at him, waiting patiently for him to say something. 

Rowen swallowed, suddenly realizing that he didn't want to tell her about his dream. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Um, no. I-I changed my mind. It's nothing, really." 

He walked out of the room. 

Mia just stared at the space where he had stood just seconds earlier. 

From the next room, there came the sounds of an explosion and Kento's cry of defeat. Cye laughed wildly. 

"Just beginner's luck, eh?" 

At 4 a.m., Sage woke up. He looked across the room, and saw Rowen sound asleep. Sage sat up and stared at his friend. The only sounds in the room were of Rowen's slow, even breathing. 

Sage wondered what his friend was dreaming. Another nightmare? Even though Rowen hadn't said anything, Sage had come to the conclusion that he had had a nightmare. What else could it be? 

Sage lay back on his pillow and stared at the ceiling. He tried not to think about Rowen, but he couldn't help it. Why had he looked so scared? Sage had asked himself the question a million times, and he was getting sick of it. But he wanted an answer. He needed an answer. 

Sage rolled over onto his stomach, trying to think of something else. But it was no use. He was just too concerned about Rowen. 

Finally Sage got out of bed. He opened the door to the room he shared with Rowen, and stepped out into the hall. He quietly shut the door behind him. 

Sage wandered downstairs into the kitchen. He got a glass out of the cupboard, filling it with water. Sage brought the glass to his lips. 

At that precise moment, Rowen's bloodcurdling scream shattered the silence. 


	2. The Plot Thickens

Nightmarish Reality  
Chapter 2 - The Plot Thickens  
By Lady Strata 

Sage spit out the sip of water he had just taken. He dropped his glass, and it shattered on the floor. But he didn't even notice as he whirled around and ran out of the kitchen. 

Sage's heart was pounding wildly as he ran up the stairs. As he ran, he could hear doors flying open and running feet. As he got to the top of the stairs, he caught a brief glimpse of Mia running into Rowen's room. 

"Rowen! Are you all right, man?" Kento was saying. Sage ran into the room to see the Warrior of Justice standing over Rowen, who was tossing in his bed, moaning. 

"No...no..." 

"What's he talking about?" Ryo asked, scratching his head. 

Sage nudged Kento out of the way and bent over Rowen. 

"Ro! Are you all right? What's happening?" He shook Rowen's shoulders. It's me, Sage! Rowen, say something!" 

"If you hadn't been stupid enough to let yourself get attacked, you would have been here to defend them. I didn't kill your best friend, you did!" 

"No, no I didn't! I swear I didn't!" 

Rowen sobbed as he lay helpless on the ground. He knew in his heart that Cale was right. It was his fault that his friends were dead. All his fault... 

"No...no..." 

"Rowen!" 

Someone was calling his name, but he didn't answer. He didn't even care. What did it matter? He was alone. Alone forever. 

"Rowen, wake up!" 

Something was shaking him. He felt a grip on his shoulders, and the voice kept calling. Funny, the voice sounded just like Sage's. But Sage was dead. So who could it be? 

"ROWEN!" 

Rowen screamed again. "Stop it, Sage, stop it! I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to die! Just leave me alone!" 

"Rowen, what are you talking about?" 

Whoever had a grip on his shoulders shook him hard. Sage's voice called to him again. 

"Rowen, snap out of it!" 

Rowen's eyes flew open, and he sat straight up in bed. The first thing he saw was Sage's face, just inches from his own. Rowen screamed. 

Ryo stood in Rowen and Sage's room with the others, staring at the scene before him. One minute Rowen had been screaming and thrashing around in his bed, and the next he had suddenly woken up and freaked out. 

Ryo watched his friend. Rowen was covered with sweat and breathing hard. Sage had jumped back when Rowen had suddenly sat up and screamed right in his face. He was sitting on the floor, staring at Rowen. 

Finally Mia spoke. "Rowen...what happened?" 

Rowen looked around at the people in his room, his eyes wide with fear. 

"What-what's going on? Where am I? Am I dead?" 

Mia and Ryo exchanged concerned looks. "No, Rowen, you're here. In your room. And what do you mean are you dead?" 

"You...you all died. I saw it." 

"What?" 

"It's true. It was all my fault." 

Sage picked himself up off the floor and sat on the edge of Rowen's bed. "Rowen...we're all alive. You're alive, too. You must have been dreaming." 

"No I wasn't! I know what I saw! It was real! It was!" 

"Rowen, calm down," Mia said. "Everything's fine." 

"Everything is NOT fine! You all died, and I couldn't do anything about it!" 

"Rowen-" 

"How did you survive? I saw Cale. He...he..." 

"Okay, Ro, okay. Just take a deep breath and tell us what happened," Sage said, putting a hand on Rowen's shoulder. 

Listening to his friend's advice, Rowen closed his eyes and took and deep, shaky breath. He opened his eyes and saw his friends around him, including White Blaze and Yuli. He took another deep breath and told them all about his dream. 

When he was done, there was a heavy silence in the room. Yuli finally spoke. 

"Don't worry, Rowen; it was just a nightmare. I have nightmares sometimes, too. But Mia always tells me they're not real. They can't hurt me." 

"I'm not so sure about this dream, Yuli," Rowen said, staring at his folded hands resting in his lap. 

Yuli's eyes grew wide and his face paled. "You mean you're all gonna die?" he asked in a small, frightened tone. 

Mia put her arm around him. "No, Yuli, no one is going to die. Rowen just had a very bad dream. Why don't you let me put you back to bed?" 

"But what about Rowen?" 

"He'll be fine. Come on, Yuli." 

After the two of them left the room, the heavy silence took place once again. This time, Cye broke it. 

"How long have you been having this dream?" 

"Why should it matter, Cye? It's just a dream, isn't it?" 

"Just answer my question." 

"Well...I think since last night." 

"You think?" 

"Well, last night was the first time I really remember having the dream. But..." He trailed off. 

"But what?" 

"It's just..." Rowen swallowed nervously. "It's just that I had bits and pieces of the dream before last night. Like, the night before last I only dreamt the part of the dream where Cale killed Sage." He looked up at all of them, his eyes wide. "And a few nights before, I only dreamt the part where I found your-your bodies." He sniffled, trying to forget the horrible memory. 

"So last night was the first time you dreamt the entire dream?" Mia asked as she came back into the room. 

"Yes." 

"Yeah, but what does it mean? You know, what's gonna happen?" Kento said. 

"I guess the dream is what's going to happen." 

"So we're all gonna die? Just like that?" 

"Look, everybody, calm down," Mia interrupted. "Why don't we all get some sleep and continue this discussion in the morning?" 

Everyone nodded, and one by one, they walked out of the room, until only Sage and Rowen were left. 

Sage shut the door behind them and sat down on his own bed. His stared at Rowen with his one visible eye. 

"Rowen...why didn't you tell me something was wrong?" 

"I-I just wasn't ready to tell you. That's all." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Well...no." 

"Then what?" 

"Sage-you're my best friend. And I didn't want to tell you about my dream because I thought you would make a big deal over it. Start saying it foretold the future or something. I didn't want to worry everybody over a silly dream." 

Sage shook his head. "Rowen...this is a big deal. You're worried over this. I'm worried over this. Everybody's worried over this. Your dream obviously means something." 

"My nightmare," Rowen said bitterly. 

"Exactly. This isn't the first time you've made noises in your sleep. I've heard you. You kept saying, 'No...no...'just like you were now." 

"I have?" 

"Yes, you have." Sage yawned and look at his bedside clock. "Look, it's late. We should get some sleep." 

"So you can all grill me about this in the morning." 

"Stop being so bitter, Rowen. This isn't just your problem any more. Go to sleep." Sage got under the covers on his bed and turned over, trying to fall asleep. 

"See, I told you you'd make a big deal over this." 

"I am NOT making a big deal over this." 

"Yes you are." 

"No, I'm not." 

"Yes you are." 

Sage sighed. "Look, this is stupid. Let's just go to bed." 

Rowen staying sitting up in his bed, glaring across the room at Sage. "Asshole," he muttered under his breath. Then he lay back down and closed his eyes. 

At nine o' clock the next morning, Kento staggered into the kitchen. He took a seat at the kitchen table and turned to Cye. 

"Food." 

"In a minute, Kento," Cye said wearily. 

Suddenly, Kento sat straight up in his chair. 

"Oh man, cartoons! I almost forgot!" 

He stood up and ran out of the room. 

Cye smiled thinly and followed his best friend out of the kitchen. 

When he found Kento, he was sprawled on his stomach on the floor in front of the TV, staring intently at the screen. 

"Kento-" 

"Sshhh! Dragon Ball Z is on!" 

Cye gave him a weird look. 

"Kento-" 

"Oh, goody! Sailor Moon is on next! Man, Sailor Jupiter is a babe!" 

Cye rolled his eyes. 

Back in the kitchen, Mia held a jug of orange juice out to Sage. 

"Want some?" 

"No," he snapped. Mia looked at him, surprised. 

"Sorry, Mia. I'm just worried about Rowen." 

"We all are," Cye said as he came back and took his seat at the table. 

"Well, after you guys left, we had this stupid fight over his nightmare. He said he didn't tell me about earlier because he thought I would make too big of a deal over it; and he was right. I ended up giving him this lecture. I've been beating myself up over it all night." 

"Sage, you were tired. Don't worry about it," Mia said reassuringly. 

"But I feel so guilty. If he was awake, I would apologize to him" 

"You know Rowen," Ryo broke in. "He won't be up till two." 

Sage sighed. "I've got a lot of waiting to do," he said. 

"ANUBIS!" 

"Yes, Master Talpa?" 

"Is everything ready?" 

"Yes. Everything is exactly as you ordered." 

"Good. Bring Dais to me." 

Anubis bowed his head. "As you wish, Master Talpa." 

A minute later, Dais came in. 

"You asked for me, master?" 

"Yes. I want you to pay a little visit to Rowen of the Strata. You know what to do." 

Dais bowed low. "Yes, Master Talpa." 

Talpa laughed evilly. 

"This way, we will have one less Ronin Warrior to deal with! When we go into battle, the Ronins will be weak! They will still be mourning the loss of their comrade, and their minds will not be on the battle! At last, we shall defeat them!" 

His evil, haunting laugh echoed throughout his castle, and even his Warlords shivered. 

Meanwhile, at Mia's mansion, Rowen slept peacefully in his room. His slow, even breathing was the only sound in the room. 

He was completely unaware of the Warlord standing over his bed. 

Dais stood over Rowen, an evil smile on his face. He watched the bearer of Strata silently, thinking of his evil mission from Talpa. 

Rowen mumbled something in his sleep, and rolled over onto his back. 

Dais smirked. "Pathetic Ronin," he hissed. "Your time is over." He held his sword over Rowen, preparing to plunge it into his heart. 

Sage came back up the stairs and headed down the hall to his room. If Rowen was awake, which he probably wouldn't be, Sage would apologize to him right then and there. 

He stopped short when he saw Dais, his sword directly over Rowen's heart. 

"NO!" Sage shouted, and ran across the room, hoping, praying that he wouldn't be too late. 

A WORD FROM THE LADY  
Heart pounding, eh? Sorry for leaving you with another cliffhanger, I know how much you all hate 'em. I know the title of this chapter is kinda stupid, but I suck at thinking up chapter titles. Send me any flames, death threats, comments, suggestions, questions, etc. Just don't sue me, please. 


	3. The Challenge

Nightmarish Reality  
Chapter 3 - The Challenge  
By Lady Strata 

Okay, there's a battle in this chapter and it's not very good because I'm terrible at writing battle scenes. Have mercy, please.

Dais laughed evilly, preparing to plunge his sword into the sleeping Rowen's chest. 

"NO!" Sage shouted as he ran across the room. 

Dais whirled around, furious at the interruption. 

"You fool. Do you really think you are a match for me?" He gave Sage a vicious backhand slap, knocking him to the floor, leaving him momentarily stunned. 

"Now I can do what I came here to do!" He turned back to Rowen. "Kill YOU!" He held his sword high, and began to plunge it down. 

"Ironrock crusher!" 

Dais screamed as he was thrown back from the bed, nearly landing on Sage. 

Rowen finally woke up. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and squinted at the scene before him. His eyes widened as he took it all in. 

"DAIS! What the hell-" 

"Rowen, come on!" Kento grabbed his arm and hauled him out of bed. "Put your armor on!" 

"Armor of Strata...Dao Inochi!" 

When Rowen had his armor on, he drew an arrow from the quiver on his back and pointed it at Dais. 

"All right Dais, start talking." 

"I'm not telling you anyth-" He broke off as a sword stopped just millimeters from his throat. 

"I think you will," Sage said quietly. In all the confusion, he had recovered and had managed to put his armor on. "Spit it out, Warlord." 

"Fools! Do you honestly think I'm going to talk? I am a servant of the great and powerful Talpa! I cannot be beaten!" 

"Yeah, well I'm sick and tired of everyone talking about great Talpa is!" Kento cried, looking angry. "Face it, Dais, you've lost." 

"Not very likely." 

In the blink of an eye, Dais moved Sage's sword away from his throat and had flipped the bearer of Halo on his back. Dais laughed. 

"Who's lost now, Ronins?" 

"Super wave smasher!" 

"Flare up now!" 

The Warlord of Illusion had completely forgotten about Ryo and Cye. As a result, their attacks took him completely by surprise. He cried out as he broke through the floor of Rowen and Sage's room. He stood up, wincing with pain. 

"You've won the battle, Ronins, but you haven't won the war! I'll be back!" 

He vanished. 

Meanwhile, in the remains of Rowen and Sage's bedroom, the five Ronins looked at each other. Kento was the first to speak. 

"Hey, is everybody all right?" 

"Yeah, I think so," Rowen said. He looked around him and grimaced. "I think I'm gonna need a new room, though." 

Mia leaned back in her chair, a worried expression on her face as she addressed Rowen. 

"I don't understand it. Why would Dais come here to kill you?" 

"He's from the Dynasty, Mia. Think about it." 

"No, she's right," Ryo interrupted. "Why come now, of all times?" 

"He wanted to catch us off guard." Everyone looked at Cye. He gave them all an exasperated look. "Well, think about it. It was morning, we weren't fully alert, Rowen was alone upstairs. It was the perfect opportunity." 

Sage, who was sitting on the couch next to Rowen, leaned toward his best friend. 

"Look, Ro, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for being such a jerk last night. You were right. I know I made it out to be a bigger deal than it was. But it's still a problem." 

Rowen sighed. 

"Yeah, I know. So what are we gonna do about it?" 

"Talpa's obviously planning something, guys. Let's just go stop him now." 

"Kento, you know perfectly well-" Cye began. 

"Come on, Cye! We can't give him a chance to try anything! Let's kick his sorry ass now, before it's too late!" 

Yuli clapped a hand over his mouth and started giggling. Mia gave him a look. 

"What's so funny?" 

"Kento said the 'A' word!" Yuli cried gleefully as he burst into another fit of giggles. 

Mia glared at Kento. 

"Kento, watch your language." 

"Aw, come on Mia, you never told me to watch my language before." 

"I'm telling you now." 

"But-" 

"No buts," Mia said firmly. 

Kento flopped back in his chair, defeated. 

"Yes, ma'am," he said glumly. 

In spite of the serious circumstances, they all had to laugh. 

"DAIS!" 

"Yes, Master Talpa?" Dais said tentatively. 

"You have failed! How could you fail to kill a sleeping boy? It couldn't have been any easier!" 

"The other Ronins Warriors, sire, they came to his aid." 

"You let them defeated you, didn't you Dais?" 

"No, master-" 

"SILENCE!" Talpa roared. Dais gulped. 

"I should have sent Sekhmet in your place! He could have killed Rowen of the Strata! But now, because of your incompetence, we haven't enough time. We must go ahead with our plan." 

"Shall I gather the other Warlords, master?" 

"Yes, Dais, bring them in here. It is time." 

Rowen put his chin on his hands. He was sitting on the front steps, trying to sort everything out. He knew the Dynasty would strike again. He thought he should be scared, considering it was him that Dais had come to kill, but he wasn't. 

He groaned and ran his hands through his blue hair. "I wish I knew what was going on," he grumbled to himself. 

"Oh, you will soon enough." 

Rowen's head snapped up. His jaw dropped when he was who was standing in front of him. 

"Anubis!" 

"Yes, it is I. I have to come to let you know that you are going to die, tonight, you blue-haired fool." 

"What, is Dais going to stand over my bed with a sword again?" Rowen's voice dripped with sarcasm. 

Anubis flashed him an evil grin, reached down, and grabbed Rowen by the throat. He lifted the struggling boy in the air. 

"Oh no, Rowen, it will be different from that. Much, much different." He squeezed harder, cutting off Rowen's air supply. Rowen gagged, but Anubis didn't lessen his grip at all. 

"Talpa challenges you to a battle. All five of you. Tonight. You know where to go. You're the one who's been having the dreams, after all." 

He let go of Rowen, letting him drop to the ground. Rowen lay there, gasping as he tried to catch his breath. 

Anubis walked over to him and kicked him in the ribs. Rowen cried out, but the Warlord of Cruelty just smiled. 

"I look forward to seeing you, Rowen." 

Then he vanished, his evil laugh echoing in Rowen's ears. 

"Rowen!" Rowen painfully turned his head to see Sage bending over him. "Are you all right?" 

"Sage," Rowen gasped, his voice filled with pain. "Anubis said-" 

"I heard." 

Ryo stood looking at the spot where Anubis had been standing just seconds earlier. When he spoke, his voice was grim. 

"Looks like we've got ourselves a battle." 


	4. The Battle

Nightmarish Reality  
Chapter 4 - The Battle  
By Lady Strata 

Cye stepped off the front porch and onto the grass. He walked over to where Mia, Yuli, White Blaze, and the other Ronins, in their subarmor, stood. He stopped beside Kento and spoke. 

"Well, are we ready?" 

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," Ryo replied grimly. He looked at Mia. "I guess we should be going." 

"Oh, Ryo, please be careful," Mia begged. 

"Yeah, Ryo, you gotta come back," said Yuli. 

(Author's Note: Have you ever noticed how, on the series, whenever the Ronins are about to depart on some adventure, Mia and Yuli only worry about Ryo?) 

"Don't worry, guys, we'll come back," Ryo said soothingly. 

"Let's just get this over with," Rowen interrupted. "I'm not exactly looking forward to this." 

There was a moment of silence as they all remembered what had happened in Rowen's dream. 

"Oh, quit worrying, you guys!" Kento exclaimed loudly. "It was only a dream; dreams don't come true!" 

"Are you calling me a liar?" Rowen demanded. He firmly believed that unless they were careful, the dream would come true. 

"No, no, Ro, I'm not calling you a liar. It's just that-" 

"Okay, okay, okay," Sage said. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere. We have to be a team." 

"Yeah, whatever," Rowen snorted. 

Sage's face turned red, but Cye held out an arm and stopped him. 

"Let's go," he said, ignoring the look Sage was giving him. 

The five Ronin Warriors set off. 

"MY WARLORDS!!!!!!!!!!!!" Talpa bellowed. "It is time. Time to finally defeat the Ronin Warriors. Dais failed to kill Rowen of the Strata, but the four of you will destroy the Ronin Warriors, including Rowen of the Strata!" 

"Master, I-" Dais started to say. 

"QUIET!!!!!!!!!!!" 

"You failed, Dais," Sekhmet said bitterly. "You couldn't kill him. Hopefully, you will be of some use to us in this battle." 

"Why, you-" 

"ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now go; go and defeat the Ronin Warriors!" 

Rowen stopped walking and looked around. 

"This is the spot." 

"Are you sure?" Ryo asked. He looked around. "I don't see anything." 

"I had the dream, Ryo, I would know." 

"Well, what do you know, the Dynasty is late," Kento said, a smirk on his face. 

"Ha, ha," Cye said sarcastically. 

Suddenly, evil laughter filled the air. The four Dark Warlords became visible. 

"Shit, it's them!" Sage cried. 

"To arms!" Ryo yelled. 

After they had their armor on, the Ronin Warriors faced the Dark Warlords. And the battle started. 

Rowen found himself facing Anubis. The Warlord of Cruelty smirked at his opponent. 

"I look forward to defeating you, Rowen." 

"In your dreams, Anubis!" Rowen replied sharply. 

Anubis laughed. "We'll see about that! Quake with fear!" 

Rowen leaped to the side as Anubis's attack just barely missed him. It hit Sekhmet instead. Sekhmet cried out and fell to the ground. Ryo, who had been fighting Sekhmet, looked surprised. 

"Good one, Anubis!" Rowen said, taunting the Warlord. "Care to attack me again and hit another one of your friends?" 

Anubis sneered. "You wait and see, Ronin. After all, we'll get back at you later. It's a pity you already know what we have in store for you." 

He turned around and gave a hand signal. Dynasty soldiers came pouring onto the battlefield from all directions. The five Ronin Warriors looked around wildly as the Dark Warlords vanished. 

"Holy shit!" Kento cried. "What are they doing here?" 

"We don't have time to wonder, Kento!" Cye yelled back. "We have to beat them!" 

No one said anything back to Cye, because a second later they were all attacked by the soldiers. Sage swung his sword, killing two soldiers. Another one hit him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Sage's breath was knocked out of him. 

The other Ronins didn't seem to be doing much better, with the exception of Rowen. He drew back his fist and punched a soldier in the face. Then he was ambushed. Just like in his dream. 

Rowen struggled to fight back, but he couldn't. Remembering his dream, he waited for the very brief gap in which he would be able to defend himself. It came. 

"Arrow shockwave!" 

Rowen looked around him at the Dynasty soldiers lying, unmoving, on the ground. Then he collapsed. 

He lay on the ground, breathing hard. His uncovered face was now covered with blood and bruises. Just like in his dream. 

"Damn," Rowen muttered. At least one of his ribs was broken, and he couldn't move his left arm. 

"This can't be happening. It's exactly like my dream. I hope the guys are all right." 

Rowen tried to get up, but he fell back to the ground. 

"Oh man, not this again. Don't tell me I have to wander around for two hours before I see something." 

He crawled over to a tree and pulled himself to his feet. He was going to be doing some walking. 

Two hours later, Rowen staggered painfully up a hill. He was ready to die. Then he staggered painfully down the hill. He looked up and stopped. 

"No..." 

Before him was the scene of a battle. Bodies littered the ground. There was blood everywhere. Most of the bodies were of Dynasty soldiers. But it was the three bodies in front of Rowen that caught his attention. 

"NO!" 

Rowen hurled himself to the ground and began to cry. The bloody bodies of Ryo, Kento, and Cye lay in front of him. 

"I'm too late," Rowen sobbed. "Oh shit, I'm too late. My nightmare is becoming a reality. This can't be happening. This just can't be happening..." 

Rowen put his face in his hands and began crying even harder. But suddenly he jerked his head up as a thought came to him. He had nearly forgotten about Sage. Rowen got to his feet. Three of his friends were dead. But he could still save Sage. If he got to Sage fast enough, that is. 

"SAGE! WHERE ARE YOU?" 

Rowen limped across the battlefield, calling out Sage's name. Fear held his heart in an iron grip. He felt like he was about to vomit. Tears were streaming down his face. 

"DIE, RONIN!" 

Rowen's heart raced. There wasn't much time left. 

"Sage!" 

Rowen limped toward the battle between the Warrior of Wisdom and the Warlord of Darkness, filled with a sense of purpose. 

"I can't let Sage die," he said to himself. "I just can't..." 

"Sage, get out of here! I'm not letting you die this time!" 

Sage looked toward Rowen, surprised to see him. 

"Rowen-" 

"Sage, look out!" 

Sage looked just in time to see Cale swing his sword right into his stomach. Sage screamed with agony as Cale pulled the sword out, laughing evilly. 

"NO!" 

Rowen felt as though his heart had been ripped out. He had failed Sage. He had failed all of them. 

Rowen ran toward Cale, ready to tear him apart for what he had done to Sage. 

Cale laughed and knocked Rowen to the ground. 

"I may be hurt, but I'm still strong enough to take care of you, you pathetic Ronin weakling!" 

"You killed my best friend, you bastard!" Rowen screamed with rage. "I'll get you for this!" 

"Not very likely, in your condition." 

Cale raised his sword above the fallen warrior, ready to plunge it into Rowen's heart. But surprisingly, he lowered it instead. 

"You know, instead of killing you, I think I'll leave you here and let you think about how you killed your friend. If you hadn't been stupid enough to let yourself get attacked, you would have been here to defend them. I didn't kill your best friend, you did!" 

"No, no I didn't! I swear I didn't!" 

Cale laughed and disappeared to report to Talpa that he had succeeded in defeating the Ronin Warriors. 

Rowen was left alone on the battlefield. He looked over at Sage. 

"I'm sorry, my friend," he said to Sage's lifeless body. 

Rowen felt horrible. His dream had come to life. Now he was stuck to live in a nightmarish reality, never able to forget the fact that he had killed Sage, Ryo, Kento, and Cye. And just what was he going to say to Mia and Yuli? 

The Warrior of Life lay sobbing on the ground. He knew in his heart that Cale was right. It was his fault that his friends were dead. All his fault... 

A HAPPY LITTLE AFTERTHOUGHT 

Well, that was it. The battle. Wow. I know a lot of people are going to be pissed at me for killing off 4 of the 5 Ronin Warriors. Any torch-bearing mobs who want to burn me at the stake, feel free to come to my house in Minnesota and do so. But this is NOT the end of the story. I still have one more part to write. So you might want to wait until you've read the epilogue to decide if you still want to kill me or not. I'm hoping you WON'T want to kill me. Have mercy, please. 

(Lady Strata turns around as she hears loud voices outside her door)What the-AAAAHHHH!!!!!! 

(She turns around and runs like hell as a torch-bearing mob breaks down the door and chases after her) 


	5. Epilogue

Nightmarish Reality  
Epilogue  
By Lady Strata 

Okay, here's the last part. Warning: the ending is really messed up. I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it. Read at your own risk.

A scream shattered the early afternoon silence. 

The scream had come from Rowen. He sat straight up in his bed, clutching the front of his shirt. 

"No," he gasped, "no." 

Panting, he looked over at Sage's bed. It was empty. 

Rowen bowed his head as a tear slipped from his eye. Of course Sage's bed was empty. It always would be. Sage was dead. 

And it was all Rowen's fault. 

Rowen started to cry. "I'm sorry, Sage. I'm sorry." 

He cried harder as he thought about Ryo, Kento, and Cye as well. 

"I killed them," he sobbed, "I killed them all." 

An enormous wave of guilt washed over him, and his grief became nearly unbearable. Rowen put his face in his hands and let the tears come. He needed to blow off some steam. 

He was crying so hard, he didn't even hear the footsteps running down the hall. They got louder as they rapidly approached his door, but Rowen didn't notice. 

The door to his room was thrown open, and someone ran in. They saw Rowen crying and were immediately alarmed. 

"Rowen!" they cried, "What's wrong? I was outside and I heard you scream. And why are you crying? Did something happen?" 

Rowen took his face out his hands and looked at the person in his room. He stopped crying and stared in disbelief. 

"It-it's you! I can't believe it!" 

"What are you talking about, Rowen?" his visitor asked, sitting on the blue-haired boy's bed. 

Rowen threw his arms around the person sitting on his bed and burst out crying again. This time, however, his tears were tears of joy. 

"Oh God, I can't believe it's you!" he yelled, crying hysterically. 

"You just saw me last night! Are you sure you're not sick?" 

"No, I'm not sick! I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! And you're fine, too! Isn't it great?" 

"Uh...yeah. Great." 

"I'm fine, you're fine, EVERYBODY'S fine!" 

"You eat too much sugar." 

Rowen giggled. "No, I don't." 

"Just one question. Why did you freak out when I came into the room?" 

"Because you're ALIVE, stupid!" 

"Um...Rowen, I've always been alive." 

Rowen shook his head. "No, no, no. You've got it all wrong. But it doesn't matter now, because you're ALIVE!" He threw his arms around Sage and started crying again. 

Sage managed to free himself from Rowen's crushing hug. 

"Ro, why were you crying when I came in?" 

"I had a dream. I was so scared! I thought everything was my fault. I thought-" 

"Wait, wait! Just what exactly was your fault?" 

"I killed you and the other guys! It was all my fault! Oh shit, I WAS SO STUPID!" 

"You killed us?" 

"If I had gotten there in time, I could have prevented the Dynasty from killing you!" Rowen continued, "It was all my fault!" 

"Huh?" 

"But now you're ALIVE! ALIVE! Can you believe it? I'm so relieved!" Rowen's tears were gone now, and he started laughing loudly. 

Sage just stared. 

"Oh, I'm so happy!" Rowen jumped out of bed and ran out of his room yelling, "It was a dream! Do you hear me? It was all a dream! YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

There was nothing but silence in Rowen and Sage's room as Sage sat on his best friend's bed. After about a minute of dead quiet, he spoke. 

"He needs help." 

Meanwhile, Rowen ran down the stairs, giddy with relief. He was free! Free of all the guilt and pain! 

"I can't believe it!" he said to himself, "I just can't believe it! It was all a dream! The whole thing was just a dream! I actually dreamt I was having a dream! How weird is that?" 

He ran right into Ryo and nearly knocked him to the ground. 

"Hey, watch where you're going, Ro!" 

"It was a dream, Ryo; it was a dream! Isn't that wonderful?" 

"What the hell are you talking about, man?" 

"None of it was real, Ryo! None of it! It's a miracle!" Rowen hugged Ryo and ran off. 

Sage came up behind Ryo and they both stared at Rowen's retreating figure. 

Ryo turned to Sage and said, "He needs help." 

"No kidding." 

Meanwhile, it had started to rain, so Cye and Kento came in. They were laughing and talking when Rowen ran into them. He hugged each of them, then jumped up and down, flapping his arms with glee. 

His two friends looked at him like he had grown an extra head. 

"He looks like he's trying to fly," Kento said. 

Cye cleared his throat. "Um, Rowen? Are you all right?" 

"Of course I'm all right, Cye! I've never been better!" Rowen laughed like a maniac and ran outside. 

"Wait!" Cye called after him, "Rowen, it's raining! You'll get soaked!" 

But Rowen didn't care. Even though it had started pouring, he ran around in the yard, his arms flung wide open, his head thrown back in laughter. 

"They're alive! They're all alive! Every one of them!" Rowen yelled to the sky. He laughed even harder and continued to run around in the rain. 

Sage, Ryo, Kento, and Cye all gathered around the door which Rowen had left wide open and watched their friend act like an idiot. 

"What's he doing?" 

"He needs help." 

"Maybe he's on drugs." 

"I can't believe he's STILL trying to fly!" 

Sage shook his head. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Rowen, come inside! You'll catch a cold!" 

But Rowen was completely oblivious to all of them. Crazy with relief and joy, he climbed a tree and hung upside down from one of the branches. 

Kento stomped his foot. "I know why he's acting like this! He's trying to fly! Can't you guys see that?" 

Cye gave him an exasperated look. "Kento, he is not trying to fly. He's just insane." 

"I still think he eats too much sugar," Sage said. 

Ryo nodded in agreement. 

Rowen jumped out of the tree. He held his arms straight out, ran around in circles, and made whooshing noises. He saw his friends staring at him from the doorway. He waved at them, a huge grin on his face. 

"Look at me! I'm an airplane!" 

The other Ronins groaned and shook their heads. 

Except for Kento. He pointed a finger at Rowen, still acting like an airplane. 

"See! I told you he was trying to fly!" 

A WORD FROM THE LADY 

Well, there you have it. The entire thing was a dream. No one died. Rowen dreamed it all. Yes, this means that he dreamed he was having a dream. Weird way to end it, huh? Whatever. Anyway, hopefully this will discourage all torch-bearing mobs who wanted to burn me at the stake. Your beloved Ronins are alive, well, AND STILL KICKING ASS! Sorry. Had to put that in. And I know there are WAY too many exclamation marks in this last part. But I think we can all live with that. It's a small price to pay for keeping everyone's favorite boys alive. Before I go: some of you may be wondering where I got the idea for Rowen acting like an airplane at the end. And the answer is: I have no idea. Now, if you'll excuse me- 

(Lady Strata gets up from her chair, walks over to the door, and opens it. She steps outside, oblivious to the fact that it is pouring rain. She holds her arms out straight, runs around in circles, and makes whooshing noises) LOOK AT ME! I'M AN AIRPLANE! 


End file.
